The Cincinnati Bengals face the Baltimore Ravens in an AFC North showdown on Thursday Night Football. The traveling Bengals could be without one of their key fixtures in the receiving room, which means wideout Trenton Irwin’s role in the passing game could skyrocket, at least for this week.
Should fantasy managers take a gamble on Irwin? We look ahead to his matchup and assess whether he’s a starter, or better left on the bench for Week 11.
Fantasy Football analysis: Bengals WR Trenton Irwin
Heading into Week 11, Irin ranks as WR98 in PPR fantasy leagues with an average of 4.3 fantasy points per game. While he’s been buried deeper on the Bengals depth chart, he’s stepped up in light of Tee Higgins’ injury, having logged doubled-digit fantasy points twice this season.
Start or sit in Week 11 PPR leagues?
Start. Irwin saw just four targets last week, but he made the most of them by hauling in two catches for 54 yards, including a long catch of 32 yards. While finding the endzone will ultimately keep him fantasy relevant, it’s hard not to like his chances this week with Tee Higgins unlikely to suit up on the short week.
The Ravens are allowing the second-fewest fantasy points to wide receivers, but Irwin holds decent flex appeal in larger fantasy leagues of 12 to 14 teams. Otherwise, treat him as a confident WR3 option.
Start or sit in Week 11 standard leagues?
Start. On a normal week, Irwin would be off the fantasy radar given the names ahead of him in the receiving room. But with Higgins unlikely to play, Irwin has a case to be made as the Bengals’ WR3, possibly even WR2 for Thursday night. He’s a bit more of a risky play in PPR leagues, but in standard leagues, fantasy managers should take advantage of his chunk yardage opportunities, even if they’re far and few between.
In standard leagues, Irwin holds decent flex appeal in both smaller and larger leagues, with some slight upside in 12 to 14 teams given the fewer alternative options.
Player(s) you would start ahead of Trenton Irwin
Curtis Samuel finished with a quiet 2.6 PPR fantasy points last week, but he can bounce back as the Washington Commanders face the New York Giants in Week 11. Samuel is nursing a toe injury, but he has a chance to exploit a Giants defense that is allowing 27.0 fantasy points per game to receivers, which is third most in the NFL.
